


You and I, We Can Fly

by jkgay4tae



Series: Canon-Compliant Sunki Drabbles/One-shots [1]
Category: ENHYPEN (Band), I-LAND (Korea TV)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Canon Compliant, Drabble, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, No Romance, No Smut, One Shot, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Debut ENHYPEN, Sunki, is this how you tag???, lmao i tried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:48:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27737920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jkgay4tae/pseuds/jkgay4tae
Summary: Sunoo and Ni-ki don’t get off to the best start but make it through the competition together.
Relationships: Kim Sunoo/Nishimura Riki | Ni-ki
Series: Canon-Compliant Sunki Drabbles/One-shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2028991
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	You and I, We Can Fly

**Author's Note:**

> Please note none of this reflects how I feel about anyone! This is purely for au and story purposes. That being said I wrote this as a Drabble on twt and it was longer than expected so I thought I’d post a more edited version of it!

Ni-Ki was frustrated at himself. He’d been trusted with part 1 for their first ever test in Iland and he’d fucked up. He never should’ve swapped with Heeseung. Of course, he’d felt a little let down since it had been his teammates who’d pushed him to take part one. But he’d felt most upset with himself. With that feeling he trudged down to the Ground. 

Ni-Ki was partly relieved to be reunited with Taki but he was worried too. He’d voted his best friend out in the name of helping him and look at him now. Not any better leaving I-land after one test. As he entered the Grounders’ practice room he was surprised at the reaction. 

“Ni-Ki?!”, some trainee yelled in shock. “Huh? I thought he was a top contender”. Although it was clear the trainees held him in high regard with his skill, the comments made him feel worse. It was as if he’d proved everyone they had been wrong to think he was skilled. To think he’d been deserving of being an ilander. He mustered a small polite smile but manages to give a genuine one when Hanbin and Nicholas greeted him with a warm hug. It felt nice to see a familiar face. 

He was a bit worried about Taki though. Would he be cold? Would he be mad at him? But all those worries were washed away as the other hugged him tight and whispered in their native tongue, “It’s okay. You did well”. It’d be a lie to say Ni-ki wasn’t still upset but he felt better. He’d be okay. 

After everyone settled down and chatted together while eating pizza, Ni-ki got up to stretch. As he was doing so he caught another trainee’s eyes.They were piercing into him with a Glare. ‘What the fuck is he glaring at me for?’ Ni-Ki thought but he shrugged it off and went to wash up instead. 

“You know I didn’t expect you to be here of all people”, a soft voice said but the tone was anything but. “Excuse me?”. “You voted your friend off as if you’re better and then you got eliminated yourself. Don’t you feel at least a little sorry coming here and hugging Taki like you didn’t betray him”. “You don’t know what you’re talking about so back the fuck off”, Ni-Ki snapped, annoyed that the other boy was poking at his insecurities. “I’m just looking out for my friend. Anyways I’m Sunoo. I hope you’ll change that attitude of yours”, he said in a clipped tone and turned around leaving Ni-Ki oddly flustered and somewhat curious.  
__________________________________________  
Ni-Ki could not get Sunoo out of his head. He felt some sort of need to prove to the other that he wasn’t just an asshole who decidedly fucked over his friend. That he wasn’t just a cocky trainee who thought he was above everyone. That was far from it. In fact, he didn’t even know if he deserved to be here. So Ni-ki promptly walks up to Sunoo with newfound confidence, “Hey, can I talk to you?”, he says before he can even realise it. Sunoo turns around looking a little surprised but he quickly resumes his cheery expression. “Hm? What did you want Ni-Ki?”. “I.. I just... You can’t just judge me without knowing me. I’m not some cocky guy who thinks he’s above everyone else so don’t judge me for any of my choices. I chose who I felt was the weakest, it wasn’t personal and if you’re curious enough I chose you as well. Your dance skill isn’t anything special and not as powerful as you need it to be. That’s what I based my decision on. It was the same with Taki just unbiased opinion”. “Okay”, Sunoo says simply which infuriates the other. “What you don’t like what I had to say?”. “Ni-Ki, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. I just stood up for my friend where I felt necessary. And for your information I’m aware I’m the weakest there’s no need to remind me”. Ni-ki immediately feels bad when he hears the other’s sad voice. Maybe he had been a bit harsh with his words. A few seconds pass when Sunoo speaks up again, “Taki is very trusting and sweet and I’d hate for him to trust someone only for them to screw him over. If I was wrong about you, I apologise. I hope we can practice well together”, he said with a bright smile in contrast to the previous night. 

Time passes and he’s not grown closer to the other but he has some odd attraction to him. He still felt uneasy about Sunoo’s words. “I’m aware I’m the weakest”. Every time he heard those words again in his head he felt the need to protect the elder boy. While Sunoo didn’t seem like the kind to hold grudges or get offended easily, they also hadn’t gotten closer which he guesses was cause there hadn’t really been any effort from his side and they were still kind of awkward. 

After the next test gets announced, everyone is in a Circle to decide parts. With his confidence down, Ni-ki doesn’t want to speak up and pitch himself for a bigger part. He’ll just wait and see what happens. He gets part 8 and he’s content with it. He can deal with that much. 

As practice starts it becomes hectic immediately and Sunoo is struggling to say the least. It’s not that he’s lazy or tired but his body won’t let him keep up. This is exactly what he’d feared when he came on this show. He didn’t want to tell the others either. They’d probably make sure he got small parts in fear of his health ruining everything or maybe they’d be upset that they’re stuck with him, the weak kid. Either way the toll it takes is too much and during lunch time he rests his head instead of eating. “Sunoo hyung?”. He looks up and sees Daniel, “hm?”. “Hyung are you okay? You look a little pale”. “Oh I just uh have a headache”. “Well you should eat then”. Hearing the two speak catches the attention of some others and he notices one among the ones walking towards them is Ni-Ki. “You should eat and rest if you’re sick otherwise you’ll harm the team”, Ni-ki says as Daniel tuts at him for his crudeness. “Hyung for your own sake please eat”. “I ... feel queasy. This happens when I get sick like this. I just don’t have an appetite”. “What do you mean when you get sick like this? This happens often?”, Sunoo is again surprised by Ni-ki’s interest in this matter. He ignores the warm feeling at the other’s concern when he reminds himself he’s only asking for the good of the team. “Uh yeah I have a lower immunity so I get tired easily. It won’t affect the team though I just need to put my head down for five minutes!”. “No, first eat this apple, here. And then go lie down and take a nap. You need your energy”, Sunoo looks at the other confused. ‘Is he actually concerned or ‘, his mind trails off as he feels a hand rubbing his back softly. It’s Ni-Ki’s hand and for some reason he likes the idea of the younger worrying about him.   
__________________________________________  
The midpoint evaluation just got over and the biggest criticism was the lack of any leadership or organisation. Everyone looks a little confused and lost. No one was really assertive enough to be a leader here and Jay had gotten back into iland. With the complex the other grounders have when it comes to ilanders, it wasn’t a surprise when everyone looked to Ni-ki. He was bewildered and Sunoo noticed. He went up to the boy when everyone was practicing separately, “Uh Ni-ki? I saw you don’t really want to be leader”. Ni-ki looked up in confusion but his eyes softened a bit as he saw Sunoo. “Uh what makes you say that?”, he laughs. “Well you usually do look constipated but when they brought up you being leader you looked extra constipated”, Sunoo says with a grave tone. A moment later they both burst into laughter. “I look constipated Huh?”. “Mhmm. I hope your digesting your food well”. A comfortable pause follows and then Ni-ki speaks up. “I just feel like everyone here thinks I’m more capable than I actually am. I don’t think I can lead everyone to a win”. “Who said you needed to lead us to a win? I think everyone here is a little rattled with confidence. They’re looking to you cause you ... have charisma on stage. You always seem like you know what you’re doing”. Ni-ki laughs dejectedly, “I can assure you I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. I just am not sure if I wanna be leader. But I don’t wanna let everyone down”. Sunoo hums. “You don’t think I’m being “selfish” now?”, Ni-ki asks referring to their very first conversation. “Ni-ki, I don’t think you’re selfish. I mean I don’t wanna be leader either. I just.. I hope you know that everyone wants you to be leader because they trust you. If you truly don’t want that and you feel like it’s a burden that’s fine. But if you’re only hesitant because you’re not confident I hope you’ll decide to lead us. Whether it’s to a victory or not doesn’t matter. I just hope you can trust yourself. But you’re also 15 years old so don’t feel pressured I’ll talk to the guys if you don’t wanna do it”, Sunoo finishes with a small smile and gets up to leave. “Sunoo hyung?”. Sunoo turns around. “Thank you”. 

Later, Ni-ki is nervous and somewhat stressed about speaking up but they’ve got two more days for the challenge so he needs to do this. “Uh so I think we need to follow Rain sir’s advice and appoint a leader. I know everyone here nominated me and although I’m still not sure if I can lead us well, I’ll do everything I can to help get us that win”. 

__________________________________________  
“Man I really thought we did well”, Nicholas said sadly. “Yeah it’s okay we tried I guess we just weren’t good enough”, Daniel replied. Ni-Ki knows they’re not making comments to spite him but as they spoke he couldn’t help but feel smaller. He had failed his team. He failed Sunoo. He wasn’t capable of being a leader. As they entered the grounders’ practice room they were welcomed with cheers and everyone seemed to want to make them feel better Ni-ki watched as Jaebeom hugged Sunoo tight and whispered into his ear. He felt a pang in his heart as he wanted to be the one to Hug Sunoo. But how could he? He had been the one who hadn’t led his team well so instead he watched another boy hug the one who had slowly but surely started to worm his way into his life. 

Later that night, Ni-ki is lying down in bed wondering if he made the right call joining this competition. “Ni-ki?”, Ni-ki hears a voice he’s come to love hearing. “Sunoo hyung? What is it?”. “I just wanted to tell you that Uh you did amazing as a leader I knew you had it in you”, Sunoo says looking a bit flustered if the younger isn’t mistaken. “We lost hyung. I failed our team”, Ni-ki responds confused. Was Sunoo saying this out of pity? “What? Ni-ki I told you before, winning or losing has nothing to do with being a good leader. You led us well and if you’d be willing I’d love to be led by you again”. “Really? You Uh mean that?”. “Of course I do silly”. “But you looked so disappointed earlier I thought maybe Uh you were disappointed with me”. Sunoo’s eyes widen at that. “Oh Ni-ki, I was never disappointed in you. I was ... disappointed in myself. I can’t help that I’m weaker than everyone else. A choreo that wouldn’t affect you would usually take a toll on me. I just we’ve been having so many losses I started to doubt whether I’m meant to be here”, Sunoo says with a smile that look more like a grimace. “Sunoo you know none of us think of you like that right? You’re easily the best vocalist amongst us right now. I don’t know if I’ll make it to be honest. But I know you will. You’ll make it to part 2 hyung”. Sunoo looks a little shocked at Ni-ki’s little outburst but the latter doesn’t have it in him to feel embarrassed. He needs Sunoo to know that he deserves to get through to the next round. “Ni-ki you’ll make it too. I’m sure of it”, Sunoo says reassuringly. Ni-ki isn’t sure if Sunoo is right but he knows he is. Sunoo was meant to shine and he hopes he will at the end of this gruelling competition. 

__________________________________________

As the 7 winners of I-land walk into their new home, Ni-ki follows Sunoo first. “Hyung!”. Sunoo turns around questioningly. “I told you you’d make it”, he smirks. “Well I told you that you would as well”, Sunoo smiles, feeling warm. “I just want you to know hyung. I’m so happy we debuted together. I didn’t think I would succeed but it happened somehow but I’m really glad to be on the same team as Kim Sunoo”. “Oh Ni-ki, if there’s anyone I wanted to succeed with, it was you, always you”.

**Author's Note:**

> Note: there’s no romance in this and I prefer to leave it as that. But I may add more in the future and make this a kind of collection of canon compliant Sunki drabbles :,) if you’re interested pls check out my Twt I got a lot of Sunki and sunjay aus there and more that I’m writing soon :,)
> 
> TWT  
> BTS: @jkgay4tae | EN-: @sunkijaybabies | Taekook writing acc: @kookvficshere


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